Timeline of maritime activity
This is a of events in . Prehistory * About 45,000 BC: , presumably by boats and land bridge. Antiquity * About 6,000 BC: Earliest evidence of s. * 5th millennium BC: Earliest known depiction of a . * About 2,000 BC: ** dispatches a fleet to the . ** migrate from to , preceding the colonization of . * 1575-1520 BC , oldest known plank vessel, was built. * About 1175 BC: , one of the first recorded naval battles, during Ancient Egypt's war against the . * 1194-1174 BC: Supposed timespan for the events of 's and . * About 1000 BC: people developed and . * Around 600 BC: According to , sends n expedition to circumnavigate . * 6th century BC: is built in Egypt. * 542 BC: First written record of a . * 5th century BC: explores the coast of . *480 BC: , arguably the largest naval battle in ancient times. * 247 BC: completed. * 214 BC: built. * 31 BC: decides the . *100 AD: Large ships called sailed between China and India. * About 200 AD: Chuan ( ) are developed in China. Chinese people learned junk rig from people visiting their southern coast. Middle Ages * 793: The raid of , first recorded raid * 945: Malay people from attacked coast of and with 1000 boats and attempted to take the citadel of Qanbaloh. * 984: s used in China; See * About 1000: crossed the Labrador Sea to reach North America. And much of East Polynesia settled by Polynesians. * 1025: * 1088: by , first description of a magnetic . * 1159: is rebuilt, and the is founded. * About 1190: writes the first European description of a magnetic compass. * 13th century: s are introduced in the Mediterranean. * About 1280: Polynesian settlers arrive at , the last major landmass to be populated. * 1274: First . * 1325-1354: visits much of Africa and Asia. *1398: invades , with 300 and no less than 200,000 men. * 1405: 's begins. Age of Discovery * 1488: reaches the . * 1492: , first recorded non-Arctic crossing of the Atlantic * 1497: reaches North American mainland, as first European since the Vikings. * 1498 ** completes the from Europe to India. ** Columbus reaches continental South America. * 1513: completes the first voyage from Europe to China. * 1522: 's last ship arrives in Europe, first recorded , and crossing of the * 1571: , last major naval battle fought entirely between galleys. * 1580: Francis Drake returns home from , Oregon to become the 1st circumnavigation by an Englishman. * 1588: The is destroyed, shifting naval superiority to England. * 1602: The is founded. * 1606: becomes the first European to reach Australia. * 1620: constructs the first . * 1628: The sinks in harbour on its maiden voyage. * 1736: tests the first successful . * 1757: First constructed * 1771: completes the first circumnavigation without casualties to . * 1790: , the last major battle with participation of galleys. Rise of steamboats and motorships * 1783: constructs the first recorded . * 1790: begins in Great Britain. * 1805: The marks the rise of the to a century of world domination. * 1807: , the first commercially successful steamboat, is launched. * 1819: under Capt. Moses Rogers makes first transatlantic crossing using (auxiliary) steam power. * 1820: discovers mainland ; the only recorded discovery of an uninhabited continent. * 1845: becomes first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic. * 1853: American commodore arrives in , enforcing the in 1854. * 1856: outlaws privateering. * 1859: The first , , is launched. * 1861: , the first purpose-built , is launched. * 1862: The becomes the first battle between ironclads. * 1864: , the first submarine powered by an . * 1869: The opens. * 1871: braves the on the * 1880: The American passenger steamship becomes the first outside usage of 's . * 1893: The opens. * 1894: The , the world's first turbine-powered ship, is launched. * 1895: The opens. * 1903: The , the world's first ship, is launched. * 1906 ** conquers the on the . ** launched, commencing the era of s. * 1912: . The wreck could not be discovered until 1985. * 1914: The opens. * 1916: , claimed to be the largest naval battle in history, counting tonnage of engaged ships. * 1918: becomes the first used in warfare. * 1937: becomes the first American vessel to be equipped with . * 1941: The starts the . * 1942: The marks the demise of battleships and the domination of aircraft carriers. * 1944: , the largest amphibious invasion in history. * 1951: The first purpose-built s enter operation. * 1955: , the world's first , is launched. * 1957: Aircraft supplants shipping as the leading mode of passenger travel * 1959: ** The surfaces at the . ** The , the first practical , is launched. * 1960: The descends to the . * 1962: The ; a major naval confrontation between the United States and the . * 1977: Russian icebreaker makes the first surface voyage to the North Pole. * 1982: , one of the largest naval campaigns since World War II. * 1985: The , an early , is launched. * 1987: The is lost, claiming 4,375 lives, the worst peacetime maritime disaster in history. * 1994: **The becomes operational. ** . * 2005: becomes an international concern. * 2007: becomes the first manned expedition to the North Pole seabed. * 2012: ** disaster. ** reaches the solo with the . * 2013: becomes the first freighter to complete the Northwest Passage. References Category:Timeline